The present invention relates to cable junction boxes, such as are employed, for example, in the commercial cable television, electrical, and telephone industries to facilitate the routing of incoming cable to one or more separate locations, and more particularly to a cable junction box that is adapted to accommodate any of a wide array of cables and associated hardware components, including connectors, splitters, etc., in myriad locations and orientations within the junction box.
Cable junction boxes are a common sight in modem residential and business landscapes, where the advent of high speed data communications, telephone and facsimile communications, satellite television services, and cable television (CATV) services have transformed the way people both work and live. Such junction boxes are particularly employed in routing cables, including voice communication, CATV, and other signal and data communication cables from a remote location, for instance an underground or overhead CATV service line, a satellite dish, or the like, and into individual buildings and residences, etc.
Conventional junction boxes, such as shown in FIG. 1, generally include a receptacle portion 10 comprising side walls 11 and a bottom surface 12 defining an interior volume for mounting such hardware as is necessary or desired in connection with a given application. A cover portion 13 hingedly connected to the receptacle portion 10 protects the interior volume of the receptacle portion 10 from the elements, inasmuch as junction boxes are commonly disposed outdoors. The cover 13 and receptacle 10 portions each include cooperating latch means 14, as well as cooperating means 15 for receiving a padlock or other lock means, in order to secure the junction box in a closed condition. The interior of the conventional junction box includes a plurality of discrete bosses 16 extending upwardly from the bottom surface 12 of the receptacle 10. Each such boss 16 includes a slot 17 defined therein, as shown, the slots 17 providing a point of attachment for mounting on the junction box such hardware as may be desired, including, by way of non-limiting example, CATV cable and/or telephone cable splitters, etc. One or more cables are threaded to the interior of the junction box via entry ports (not visible) provided in a side wall 11. Interiorly, a foam strip 19 is provided adjacent the entry ports 18 to sealingly engage the incoming cable or cables, thereby sealing the interior against moisture and the like. The bottom surface 12 is further provided with a plurality of recessed openings 20 therethrough dimensioned to receive bolts, screws, or other fasteners to thereby facilitate mounting the junction box to a suitable support surface or structure, for instance the side of a residential or commercial building.
One drawback attending conventional junction boxes as described above is that the arrangement and design of the discrete bosses 16 limits the applicability of any given junction box to one or a relatively limited number of uses. This is because these bosses as shown and described provide for only very limited possibilities in the arrangement and orientation of such hardware as may be need to be mounted in the junction box.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a junction box that is at once economical to manufacture and well suited for mounting a variety of hardware therein in a multitude of arrangements and orientations, and in association with numerous applications, including CATV, telephone, and other communications and signal transmission applications, as well as electrical wiring applications.
The present invention addresses and solves the problems of conventional junction boxes, and encompasses other features and advantages, by providing a universal cable junction box having an interior volume defined by side walls, a bottom, and a cover. The interior volume has provided therein a plurality of hardware mounting channels each comprising a pair of spaced-apart interior walls, the hardware mounting channels further being arranged to define a pattern of repeating geometric shapes.
According to one embodiment of this invention, the hardware mounting channels are arranged to define a pattern of repeating hexagons.
According to a further embodiment of this invention, the hardware mounting channels are arranged to define a pattern of repeating circles.
Per yet another embodiment of this invention, the hardware mounting channels are arranged to define a pattern of repeating octagons.
According to a still further embodiment, the hardware mounting channels are arranged to define a pattern of repeating triangles.
Per another embodiment, the hardware mounting channels are arranged to define a pattern of repeating squares.
According to one feature of this invention, the hardware mounting channels are arranged in a plurality of generally parallel, spaced-apart rows extending in a first direction, and a plurality of generally parallel, spaced-apart rows of hardware mounting channels extending in a second direction generally perpendicular to the first direction, to thereby define a pattern characterized by repeating squares. The plurality of rows of hardware mounting channels may, according to another feature, be oriented at an angle relative to the side walls of the cable junction box.
Per another feature of the present invention, the adjacent parallel rows of hardware mounting channels are spaced approximately 0.71 inches apart.
According to still another feature of this invention, the interior walls extend generally upwardly from the bottom, and are further arranged to extend continuously through the intersection of each of the rows of hardware mounting channels.